NY casino hopefuls must attend conference, pay $1M

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Applicants for one of the four upstate New York casino licenses have less than two weeks to pay their $1 million application fee.

The state casino siting board on Thursday said a mandatory conference for applicants will be held in Albany on April 30. The application fee is due a week before the public conference.

The state Gaming Commission's casino siting board put out requests for applications for upstate casinos at the end of March. The four casinos will be located in the Catskills, the Capital Region and the Southern Tier/Finger Lakes regions. One area can get two casinos.

Applications need to be in by June 30. Selections will be made in the fall.

Voters in November approved a state constitutional amendment to allow Las Vegas-style casinos beyond Indian land.